


What now?

by pinkdripp



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Not Beta Read, apollo gets his comeuppance ----eventually, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-01-29 14:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21411949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkdripp/pseuds/pinkdripp
Summary: Persephone receives a text in class... who could it be from, and what could be waiting for her as a result?
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)
Comments: 58
Kudos: 168





	1. The Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update: I know the first chapter is a little rough, I’ll go back and edit it soon. But everything after is so much better, so don’t let it scare you off 😂😂
> 
> Hi there, this is my first fic ever soo, I hope it's not that bad. I literally wrote this while I was wine drunk one night and edited it as much as possible for things to make sense LOL. Wasn't just gonna throw away this fic so I'm posting it here. 
> 
> I'm really bad with titles but I hope it's funny at the end lmao.

Persephone looks at her phone with blankness, although she should be feeling a variety of emotions, the only thing that can pass through her brain causes her to not express any type of emotion known to the gods. The photos that Apollo took that dreadful night stays embedded in her brain, the absolute last thing she expected to receive via text as she harmlessly–or so she thought–flirted with Hades in another thread. A strong shiver fell upon her body, resonating mostly in her spine, feeling the vast coldness of the chair she was sitting in on her open back. _Mental note; remember to complain to Eros about the wardrobe that he picked out for me._ Persephone rolled her eyes as she pined that mental note to her brain. She was in class, specifically in an Intro to Biology lecture at her university. The professor would hardly notice her expression or the fact that she was on her phone at all, the class was more or less filled with a hundred individuals. Persephone’s self-consciousness took over, overthinking the fact that because she received these pictures from Apollo she believed that each individual from within this lecture hall was staring at her, judging her from their spot in the class. Would he then send these photos to other people in her life? Hermes, Artemis, Hades, her mother???? The only thing she could do was keep her head down and think about what would happen next, would Artemis throw her out of their shared home because she would believe her brother over her friend? Although to Persephone, Artemis was her best friend, but in reality, she has only known her for a couple of weeks, would she believe this stranger over her own flesh and blood, her brother? But then again, how would she know if Artemis was shown these images, or known of the situation that happened during movie night? It was a hard choice to fathom, Persephone didn’t know what to do in this situation, she has never gone through this, her first escapade in Olympus and she already was contemplating whether or not she should go back to the mortal realm, if she did her mother would never let her leave again.

Her life was something that one could only read in a book, stuck between a rock and hard place, the only place she could think about was turning towards her crush, Hades, and also her boss at the intern position she held at his corporation. The way that he looked at her sometimes really made her contemplate the reality in which she lived in, could this king of the underworld really be interested in her? Or was this just her imagination getting the best of her? Of course she was attracted to this well-fitted god, the sense of him towering over her just filled her with frustration waiting for him to make a move on her, but then again, he was in a committed relationship with, _Minthe_. Just the thought of her drew shivers to her spine again, drawing her back to reality where she realized the professor was lecturing. “The Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell” the professor stated as she came back to reality, she heard her other classmates type away at the keyboards on their laptops as she stared blankly at the old one she fished out of a dumpster. This was basic fundamental statements in science in which she learned on her own reading after studying countless amounts of books in the mortal realm while her mother homeschooled her. A sigh of relief flushed through her body as she reminisced the fact that she was in fact not pregnant with her assaulters’ infant, the memory of that situation somehow drifted to the fact that one day she hoped to have a beautiful child of her own with the king of the underworld.

_Stop that! _She hissed to herself lowly, her cheeks growing a bright crimson and blue petals began to form at the crown of her head _You don’t even know if he has feelings for you, and here you are thinking about starting a family with him!_ There was no cohesive reason for her mind to be thinking of this instance when the person she had a crush on was in a relationship. Persephone’s brain started to drift back to the lecture when her phone began to buzz between her thighs. A perfect place to keep your phone where it’s still in sight, yet far enough away to focus on the matter at hand, class, and the buzzing pulled her back into reality. As her phone buzzed between her thighs, Persephone looked at the recipient and just then the class ended and many of the students began to pack up their things and leave the lecture hall. It was a text from Hades, her heart skipped a beat and could not even fathom the fact that he was thinking about her in this same exact moment. A familiar warmth began to pool in between her thighs when unexpectedly Hades replied to Persephone’s bored in lecture selfie with a selfie of his own in his office. She swooned at the picture that he sent her and began to speculate what to reply to him in order to draw his attention to her. A small thought came to the back of Persephone’s mind, was this wrong? Am I flirting with the king of the underworld who is in a committed relationship with this red nymph trash? She stopped herself, feeling her eyes growing red with envy and red thick vines emerged from her short hairstyle, _this isn’t me_ she thought, _I am not jealous_, _I do not degrade other people, no matter how much I wish a void would just swallow them, I should not be engaging in this type of actions of that matter_. _I am a respected candidate of the TGOEM and should act like it, no matter how handsome I may think the king is. STOP IT! _she screamed to herself internally. _No matter what I do I cannot come between the king and his current… girlfriend… no matter what my feelings make me believe_. Although my mind is quite powerful and at times gives myself good advice, I decide to reply with another selfie with the slight red hue flickering in my eyes back to Hades, hoping that this would spark another reply from him, somehow validating my feeling for Hades while showing that I’m not this child that some people think that I am. This thought did not resonate in my head, the last thing on my mind was trying to make myself an exceptionally terrified being in the eyes of the king, although, deep down, I hoped that this sight of myself would pique his interest.

“Kore…” I read, not bothering to finish reading the text, just simply relishing in the fact that he praises my forgotten name. Another vibration coming from my phone, a selfie of himself simply matching the one I had sent him previously. I looked at the picture as my core began to tighten the familiar warmness between my thighs begins to reappear. Hades has sent me a selfie of himself in the black, starlight form that he reserved for the most insinuating of moments between himself and whoever was against him. From that moment I knew I was absolutely head over heels in love with the king of the underworld. The form that terrified and repulsed others, drew me in and made me wonder just what was beneath that beautiful skin of his.

* * *

Persephone flew home after class, completely terrified of what or _who_ may be waiting for her at the shared home of Artemis. She managed to push those thoughts out of her heard as she remembered the chain of texts exchanged between herself and Hades, small blue flowers began to sprout on the top of her head and she hummed to herself the rest of the way home. As Persephone landed in the front of their home anxiety washed over her whole being as she reached for the door handle to open the door. To her surprise, the home seemed empty and a wave of relief came crashing through her body like waves on a beach during a hurricane. Persephone walked over to the kitchen and decided to make herself some tea in order to sooth the number of thoughts that were waving through her head. _I hope Artemis is not aware of those revolting photos, and I hope that Apollo doesn’t come barging into their shared home knowing that his sister would not be here. _Like her thoughts were a calling card she heard a voice coming towards the back of the kitchen, “Did you like those photos I sent you? Had to remind you of the fact that you’re MY girl.” Apollo states with a smirk on his face as he leaned against the door frame to the kitchen. “Can’t have you forgetting that you belong to me.” He cooed. Persephone felt her heart sink into her stomach, she felt cornered. A snap went through her mind and her eyes became bloodshot and small red vines began to grow out of her short locks. “I belong to no one” she spat out at him. Persephone saw the confusion that showed in his eyes turn into anger. She knew that the only thing left for her to do is defend herself, like she should have done the night he came into her room. Apollo leaped towards Persephone to try and gain control over the petite goddess, and in a rage of fear and self-defense, she dodged him and rolled to the ground on the other side of the kitchen.

Without thinking she slammed her fist to the ground twice, the lights began to pop and black smoke slowly rising around her. “Shiiiiiiiit” Apollo said to himself in a whisper. Persephone heard his small cry to himself and smirked as she knew what would come next.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE MITOCHONDRIA IS THE POWERHOUSE OF THE CELL 
> 
> lmfaoooo, I had to put that in there, don't even know why.
> 
> feel free to leave comments or any suggestions? I know this is lowkey trash but ehhh. Not sure if I'm going to continue writing but here's a thing I did one night :)
> 
> UPDATE:  
decided to continue writing with this work, not sure where it's leading but definitely planning for something juicy.


	2. It Takes Two To Tango

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- As told from the perspective of Hades

-

"Another day, another dollar…" Hades playfully said to Cerberus in a sing-song voice as he fixed his pups' collar and gathered the pack of dogs into the car so he can begin his normal routine. Take the dogs to daycare, send Cerberus on his way, deal with office shit, go home, repeat. The same routine every day can be quite exhausting especially when nothing changes, _until a little pink goddess makes her way into my life_. As the thought of Persephone crept into his mind, his hands tightened around the steering wheel making a noise as the rough leather gloves contracted around the stiff material of the wheel. Hades checked on the dogs in the rearview mirror while his thoughts lingered at the sight of the back seat. Just the faint memory of the asleep pink goddess laid out across the rough leather seats the night he first laid eyes on her made his heart flutter. He may or may not have specifically chosen this car due to the correlation it had with Persephone. But, as quick as that feeling of bliss came over him the quicker it left. _Why would she want some dusty ass old man creeping up into her life when she had more suitable gods her age that could take better care of her. _Hades groaned as that negative voice in the back of his mind ripped any hope he had from him, and at that same moment, his phone rang.

**INCOMING CALL:**

MINTHE

He rolled his eyes, he lingered over the answer button for a couple of seconds before deciding to accept the call and act positive in this situation. "Good morning, Tadpole" he cooed into the phone. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT" Minthe howled from her end of the line causing Hades to move the phone away from his ear. He rolled his eyes again, unsure of how much longer it would take for him to see the inside of his skull. "To what do I owe the pleasure" he calmly replied, not wanting to waste any of his energy on this conversation that was already headed in the wrong direction. Fake whimpered coughs came spewing out of his phone, "I-I s-s-simply cannot go into work today, I feel far to s-sick." Half-heartedly whimpered Minthe followed by another dramatic cough. "You're not doing it convincingly enough!!" One of Hade's eyebrows perked up in interest as a whisper from within the background of Minthe’s line could be heard. As Hades pulled into the parking lot of the doggy daycare he had to hold down the urge to simply open his door and full-on yeet his phone as far away from him as possible. He sighed and lowered his head to the steering wheel resting his forehead on the rough material, simply thinking about the outcome of this conversation if he were to argue her actual well-being with her. “Hellllooooooooo, big blueeeee?” she questioned into her phone, almost forgetting to cough at the end of that sentence. Minthe looked over her shoulder to Thetis–whom the whispering came from earlier–and gave her a thumbs up. “Well Minthe, if you’re certain that you’re feeling under the weather and cannot come into work today than there is nothing I can do” he stated trying to rid himself of this conversation as fast as possible without starting another fight. _-click-_. The line went dead. _Typical_.

* * *

Hades opened the door to his car and slumped into the driver’s seat, pausing for a moment before he took off to his final destination, his office. Thoughts of Persephone once again flooded his mind, the way that she looked at him, always making eye contact when most people wouldn’t, the respect that she had for him, the trust she showed in her demeanor around him, and the way those cute little blue flowers always bloomed on top of her head when she was around him. _Oh, knock it off will ya? She’s a FLOWER GODDESS for gods sake, get a hold of yourself. Those flowers bloom because they are a part of her powers, which she clearly doesn’t have control over, she’s 19. _The negative thought in his mind spat at him as it returned to swat away at any feelings he was trying to process about the small goddess.

_I’m with Minthe, I’ve decided to continue this relationship with her since she’s what I deserve, there’s no way a person like Persephone would ever be interested in me, she’s out of my league. Minthe knows me and is the best I’m ever going to get. _His thoughts were trying to make sense of everything, Minthe has told him–almost word for word–those exact same thoughts he was having and it somehow seemed to validate the negative voice in his head. Although the nasty way that Minthe had come at him at the office about a week ago really made him consider their relationship and what it was all based on.

_Loneliness…_

* * *

Hades arrives at his office, petting Cerberus on the head before heading into the building. Cerberus leaned into his master's touch and headed off to his own job as Hades walked into Tower 1. On the overdrawn ride up in the elevator to his office, he drifted back into thought, reminiscing the day he was in the elevator with Minthe and Persephone when Minthe decided to practically jump him and show her affection for him in a jealous fit. His eyes never left Persephone even when she turned away from them, practically seeing the sadness in her eyes. _Wait… why would she react like that if she DIDN'T have feelings for me?_ Butterflies reappeared in his stomach like he was a schoolboy with a crush. His eyebrows knotted, remembering Minthe… and their so-called 'relationship'. It had been a long time coming, but the feeling that Hades was having around her recently was just pure toleration instead of total infatuation, like he felt towards Persephone.

Hades rubbed his forehead knotting out the knotted lines just thinking about the predicament he had put himself in, on one hand, he had Minthe where he was safe and he wouldn't feel alone on some days. And on the other, there was Persephone, whom he had to take a leap of faith to pursue her. Which was terrifying, the thought of rejection had him wishing he would be sucked into a void. Yet she was the most beautiful, radiant goddess he had ever seen who seemed to truly listen to every word that he said and made him feel like he was just learning about the world again. Hade's face went blank, suddenly realizing just how he felt in general about his current relationship. _This isn’t healthy._ The elevator dinged as it arrived at his floor.

* * *

Hades sat with a mound of paperwork spread out, a variety of graphs, executive reports, quarterly staff reviews, and minutes from previous meetings piled on his desk. Practically praying for some sort of distraction so he can take his mind off of the work he was trying to bury his feelings with. His phone buzzed from the other side of his desk. He picked up the phone mentally preparing himself for a text from Minthe, but instead, his heart skipped a beat, it was Persephone. His prayers had been answered.

His stomach was nearly doing summersaults when he saw the selfie she had sent him, “send help” she captioned the picture that showed Persephone with an unenthusiastic look on her face and a hand on her chin as her lips pouted. _The things that I would give up just to be able to feel her lips on mine_. It was obvious she didn't require any actual help, the background of her picture showed rows of seats and people sitting in them signaling the fact that she was in class. _I’m just her friend… her boss. Stay professional no matter how beautiful she may be_. Hades pondered for a bit on what to reply, minutes went by until he rested his eyes upon the mug on his desk that read ‘Underworld’s Best Daddy’. He shrugged to himself not knowing what else to do and picked it up, showing the wording to the camera before giving a sly grin and snapping the photo.

_Time to focus on the task at hand and stop distracting myself, the Underworld doesn’t run itself. But one could only hope that it would_. Just as he began to focus on the spreadsheets in front of him his phone buzzed again, already knowing who it was from he picked it up eagerly without any hesitation. Another selfie was attached, but this time her doe-eyes flicked with a hinting tone of redness reminding him of the time he took her on a tour and she became enraged with the photographer that interrupted them. _She would make such a suitable Queen… what. am. I . saying. She’s young and I’m in a… relationship…_ Hades tried his hardest to shake those sweet nothing thoughts out of his mind, but he found himself wanting to play along with her messages and let his true form be revealed shortly just for the purpose of a selfie. He chuckled to himself, _Here I am taking a photo of myself in this form that I reserve specifically for moments of pure anger between myself and whoever was against me._ Hades typed what he thought was a clever and perhaps funny reply to her selfie "Kore, two can play at that game".

* * *

Hades sat inside the conference room as the weekly staff report was being reviewed and presented by Hecate and other higher up staff members. A familiar floral scent swept his senses and a tight tugging came over his stomach repeating twice. His eyes glowed with a red hue as he realized someone was calling him. Hecate made eye contact with him at that moment and then within that same second, he disappeared leaving black smoke in his presence.

_Kore._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I know Cerberus doesn't have a collar in LO but I thought it would be cute for the beginning like if Hades was fixing his own tie in the mirror.
> 
> oh boyyyyy oh boyyyyyyyy
> 
> Thank you to RabidFariy for suggesting I change the print on the mug to the one that was shown in Episode 48 😈


	3. Checkmate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conflict in the kitchen deepens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
\- Persephone's rape will be discussed  
\- Some mention of blood

-

The kitchen lightbulb cracks and pops causing glass remnants to scatter across the floor as black smoke slowly rises and creeps up around Persephone.

Persephone darts her eyes to make eye contact with her assailant, _Apollo_. Through the dimness of the room she can tell that he has a look of pure fear painted across his dark violet face, causing a grin to appear at the sides of her mouth.

_Get ready you shitty little sun god. _Persephone slightly chuckled to herself remembering the same phrase Hades had used to describe Apollo the first day they had spent together.

The black smoke materialized into a kneeling form, _Hades_. “Kore, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” he spoke with worry in his voice. Persephone could do nothing but look at him with her eyes which darted back and forth between him and Apollo, hoping he would read her expression and know what actions to take. She watched as his gaze rose from meeting her with eye contact to observing her overgrown hair and red vines with sharp thorns weaving through it. She felt the air grow dense as he realized why her eyes had a hue of red in them.

* * *

In an instant, Hades turned around and made eye contact with Apollo. Trying to push his own feeling towards him to the back of his mind he switched between gazing at him and Kore, trying to understand the depth of the situation at hand.

After witnessing Apollo harass Persephone through the confines of his own car he understood that he had wronged her in a way he didn’t understand yet.

"Listen, man, s-she's crazy! Don't believe anything she's told you, it's all a lie!" Apollo spouted with despair and angst in his voice.

Before Hades could react to the pure bullshit that was coming out of Apollo’s mouth red vines seamlessly emerged from the floor wrapping his ankles and wrists and attaching themselves to the nearest wall. The vines caused him to be anchored to the surface, practically floating above the ground as they lifted him a couple of inches from the floor. The vines suddenly produced sharp thorns that dug into his skin, causing golden ichor to drop slowly down his limbs.

“What the FUCK, you crazy bitch! I told you man, s-shes wacked!” Apollo hissed out with a cry.

Hades immediately turned to look at Persephone, her eyes now completely flooded with anger, now bloodshot with the color of mortals blood, filled her doe-eyes to the rim. _Oh Fates, she’s so fucking terrifying and beautiful._

* * *

Persephone watched as Hades inspected the situation, watched as his eyes darted back and forth between hers and the animal on the other side of the room, watched as he tried to think about what could possibly be happening in this kitchen.

Before he could make up his mind Apollo tried to plead his case to the king, calling her crazy and trying to create reasonable doubt in his mind without Hades even knowing the situation at hand. Her mind raced a million miles a minute, _I’m the crazy one??_

Without hesitation Persephone's eyes went bloodshot, her hair began to grow substantially and her fists balled up with such enragement that her fingernails started to leave small crests in her palm, practically drawing Ichor. Persephone completely forgot about Hades in this moment, she focused all of her energy towards Apollo, vines began to emerge from the floor coiling themselves around his ankles and wrists while hoisting him up a couple of inches from the floor and anchoring him to the nearest wall. Rendering him helpless and unable to move. Within seconds the vines produced sharp thorns that tightened around his jittered movements, pressing into his skin. She watched as the golden ichor dripped down his limbs. _Now, do you feel the pain that I felt?_

Another disgusting sentence left Apollo’s mouth which really sent her over the edge.

“So, Let me get this right. You think you’ve done nothing wrong?” Persephone states coldly. “YES, BECAUSE I HAVEN’T” he practically shrieks. Apollo then lets out a whimper as the thorns dig deeper into his now bruised violet skin. Persephone now stepped closer to Apollo with every word she said until she was inches away from him.

"Okay, let's assess the situation." Persephone turns around and begins to pace as her mind plays its own game of chess. She makes eye contact with Hades, who is just looking at her dumbfounded and she looks away. But within that millisecond of eye contact they both understood each other, she was fighting her own battle he knew nothing about but was there for the support she knew she always had with him. At this point, he was there just in case something were to go wrong for any reason and to ensure her safety.

“From the moment I met you outside of the mall you’ve been nothing but smug and rude. I decided to forgive your intrusive comments after you apologized in the kitchen." She made eye contact with him through every word, making sure he understood what was coming out of her mouth. "I went to bed and you just let yourself into my room." Persephone paused for a couple of seconds and felt the room shift in an uncomfortable way. _Time to move the first pawn_.

“You kissed me and then began to press me onto the bed after I TOLD YOU that I was practicing to become a sacred virgin. But YOU didn’t care, you didn’t think about how I was feeling, only about what you THOUGHT I was feeling.” The vines coiled tighter around his wrists, she watched him as his eyes widened with pain and he darted his eyes to a corner of the room and then back at her. She didn’t think much of it.

“You took off my shorts without even asking…” A single tear fell from her eye. “You made me think that I had to do this, that my actions led you to believe that I wanted this. But I didn’t. I was in pain, and you couldn’t even bring yourself out of your Narcissistic thoughts enough to realize it. All you did was take pictures of me, and leave.”

The room went cold, a part of her knew the reason behind it but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

“You ruined me, not even two days into my stay in Olympus. You made me think that this was my fault, and I felt that way because of my actions. But I am not the one at fault here, YOU ARE.” Her voice went shallow with the next line. “You _raped_ me”. She breathed, not knowing what to do next.

Finally saying it out loud slightly lifted a weight off of her shoulders.

“You pursued me for days on end, every time I told you to stop, to leave me alone, that I am not interested. Yet you persisted, marking me as _your girl_.” Persephone took a deep breath. “I will _never_ be your girl, and I will ensure that no one else will have to go through the pain that I endured”. She grins and steps a bit closer to Apollo.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE”. Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice.

_Artemis._

** _Checkmate._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> illegal cliff hanger 🥴
> 
> I have an exam coming up for one of my classes this week, so I probably won't update again until next weekend. Sorry, my little babiesssss.


	4. Brothers Grimm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoyoyo i'm back, completed my exam. 
> 
> Let's get into it, shall we?
> 
> WARNING:  
\- Persephone's rape is mentioned

-

Hades marveled at Persephone's newfound confidence, the terror that had taken over her body when he had first arrived was now practically gone. _She’s radiating pure fear. A perfect dread queen._ Hades was knocked out of his thought with her next sentence.

"I went to bed and you just let yourself into my room."

The sound of Persephone’s voice turned into daggers that pierced his skin as she finished that sentence. Hades took a step back and felt his eyes begin to heat, resembling that of burning ember.

The room grew dense as he struggled to make his own sense of the things that she’s saying to Apollo. Hade's thoughts began to rampage, making eye contact with him as she continued to berate him with her words.

"You took off my shorts without even asking…" Hades seemed to blackout. "You _raped_ me”.

The low huff of Persephone's voice and the sight of a single tear that slid down her cheek made the daggers that her words pierced him with earlier, twist in their wounds. He felt his body turn cold, his stomach felt as if it weighed one-hundred tons.

The memory of Apollo banging on his car and the look on Persephone’s face as she saw who it was. The look of pure _fear._ It was obvious to Hades now that she was extremely uncomfortable in his presence, the feeling that she emitted was that of wishing to be sucked into a void away from him.

The ember in his eyes now flaming with fury and hurt for Persephone.

_This is not my battle._

A voice that had not been there previously boomed with anger from the other end of the kitchen. Making eye contact with the Violet goddess. _Artemis._

Hades brought his hands up to his shoulders in innocence, hoping that she would concentrate on the real enemy at hand.

* * *

Artemis opened the front door of her home, only to be greeted by a coldness that sent a strong shiver down her spine. The longer she stood in her place the longer she heard the commotion that was coming from the kitchen. She inched closer, hearing the accusations that were coming out of her mouth. _THAT’S ENOUGH. _

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!” Artemis roared. Making firm eye contact with Hades in the kitchen assessing the situation, then looking away as she determined that he was not a part of the confrontation.

“Persephone, what are you doing to my brother?” she let out with a soft cry. She watched as her eyes went from a rich variation of ruby, back to their regular snowy appearance, Persephone’s face softened as she turned to look at her.

“Remember when we got into a bit of an argument about Hades, and you brought up the fact that your brother saw us being ‘chummy’ with each other outside of our place?” Persephone softly spoke towards Artemis, as if they were the only ones in the room. “Yeah, what about my brother? You never finished your statement, you just changed the subject.” Artemis scoffed as she looked back and forth between her best friend and her brother that was stuck against the wall with red vines, resembling the ones that came out of her head the day that they were bickering.

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird Artemis, that he’s always asking where I am and what I’m doing?” “Persephone, I already told you that it’s just a little crush that he has on you. It’s not that serious” she said as she placed one hand on her hip and dismissed her with the other. _Where is she going with this?_

“Artemis… don’t you notice how uncomfortable I get whenever he’s around or you bring him up in a conversation? That’s not normal.” She watched as Persephone paused for a second collecting her thoughts and then sighed. “Look, I understand that he’s your brother and all, but at the time I couldn’t even admit what happened to me to myself. Let alone try and explain it to you.” Artemis watched as Persephone inched closer to her.

“What are you trying to say?” she said halfheartedly. “I’m not trying to hurt you in any way, shape or form, bu-“ “WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, PERSEPHONE.” She interrupted her and searched for an answer from within her eyes and looked at her brother. “he _raped_ me” she whispered, just soft enough for her to hear it.

Artemis couldn't even begin to fathom the thoughts that were racing through her mind, she felt her heart practically break in that same moment. Piece by piece they individually fell into the pit of her stomach, piercing her insides as her heart broke. _This can’t be true, I’ve been nothing but nice to her. She has to be making this up, I mean… technically I’ve only known her for a couple of weeks. And I’ve known my brother my whole life, he couldn’t have done this. He wouldn’t have done this._

She opened her mouth and attempted to say something but she couldn't make a cohesive sentence to explain how she was feeling. She looked at Persephone who was now crying softly to herself and then to her brother, who had no type of expression what so ever on his face. "I-I don't believe you, why would you say something so cruel like that to me. My brother and I are just looking out for you" she finally managed to choke out. "I t-think you should leave."

* * *

Any confidence Persephone had left in her small body was now completely gone. The last thing that had come out of her best friend's mouth tore the last of her will in two. _She doesn’t believe me… of course she doesn’t, you’re just a dumb village girl. Who would believe you? _The negative thoughts in her head brought back the pain that she was feeling earlier, her feelings were reflecting in her eyes again and began to return but with just a small touch of ruby hue this time, not too much to completely bring fear to her friends' expression.

This time, the anger she was feeling was not that of pure rage but heartbreak and sadness. The day had come where the person who stuck her neck out for her against her mother to help her live in Olympus did not believe what she said. Her roommate, her best friend, was now just a stranger to her. Someone that she use to know, the pain in her heart was something she had never experienced before, not only was she in deep pain from what her sibling had done to her but now she had the feeling of loss. Without Artemis, she would have never gone to the Panathenaea, where she had woken up in Hades' home. Which was arguably one of the best things that happened to her in her life. The pain of losing someone was very difficult to deal with, but at that moment she made up her mind.

This was the first time she had ever lost a game of chess, a false checkmate was declared and now she has to deal with the ramifications of her defeat.

She turned away from Artemis and looked back towards Hades, the look that sat across his face changed suddenly as he made eye contact with her. Unsaid words were declared between the two just through eye contact. Persephone noticed how his face changed from solemn to soft, caring, and understanding within seconds of shared eye contact. Hades gave her a small nod, almost undetectable had it not been for their mental thoughts to each other. Her decision now absolute, she turned back to Artemis.

“I understand, but before you release him from his bonds…” she glanced at Apollo and the ruby hue in her eyes suddenly illuminated and filled them to the rim, making one last unsaid threat to him simply through her eyes. “…check the pictures on his phone. That should give you all the proof that you need to truly understand what conspired between us.” Artemis said nothing in return, just nodded.

Persephone walks over to Hades and squeezes his bicep lightly, “can we leave” she says softly as she looks up at him. She looks at wrinkles in his forehead as he ponders, _he probably doesn’t even know where to take me_. Hades interrupts her thoughts with his reply “As you wish”.

She looks over her shoulders one last time at her friend as the same black smoke that brought him here ingulfs them both. She blinks, but when she opens her eyes she’s in a different kind of familiar place, his home.

A couple of minutes go by before any of them dared to move, Persephone finally seemed to process what had just happened and lets go of the grip she had on his bicep as silent tears fell down her face. _How many times have you cried in front of him now? He must think you’re so naive. _"Kore, sweetness… are you alright?" As his voice brought her back to reality she let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. As she raised her head to meet his eyes with her own all she could see was absolute concern and care, no judgment or resentment, just absolute interest in her.

"I-I'm so sorry that I brought you into this, you must think so poorly of me after that scene I just caused and what you heard me say." Persephone lowered her head avoiding eye contact at all costs so she wouldn't have to see the disappointment in his face. A stream of silent tears continued to fall down her heated cheeks, as another began to fall from her eye his hand wiped it away and then rested his hand on her cheek while the other lifted her chin to meet her gaze with his. She felt flowers begin to bloom on the top of her head, but at this point, there was nothing else that would make her feel more shame and embarrassment than how she already felt at that moment.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed by, Kore.” _What the heck can he read my mind?? _The next thing she knew she was being engulfed by his torso, he was hugging her. It wasn’t any type of hug, it was the type of hug you share with someone when you’re absolutely destroyed inside and you wish a void would open up and suck you into nonexistence so you wouldn’t have to feel the existential pain that was flowing throughout your body. It was a hug that you shared with someone that you truly care about, and never want to let go. _Oh, Fates…_ And with that thought she let herself go and hugged him back, as you would with an oversized stuffed animal while you cuddled with it in bed, never wanting to give it up. She sobbed into him as she pressed her face into his torso. They stayed like that for what felt like hours.

"Thank you for that." She whispered into his chest. "I guess I'm homeless now and don't know what to do." She let out a hefty sigh, signaling the fact that she had run out of tears. "I'll be more than happy to have you stay in the guest room for as long as you'd like."

She looked up at him, her eyes practically beaming. “Really??!?” “Of course sweetness, it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“But what about _Minthe?” _she felt him tense against their embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL I'M SO SORRY, BUT I LOVE CLIFFHANGERS.
> 
> RIP ME


	5. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!
> 
> \- Some discussion of rape is mentioned.

\-----

“But what about _Minthe?”_

Hades tensed against their embrace, just the thought of Minthe sent a cold chill down his spine, practically making all the invisible little hairs stand while the chill touched every bone of his vertebrae. The way he was holding Persephone and the embrace that she gave back to him tripled the amount of intimacy Minthe ever gave him. Hades thought to himself for a couple of seconds, unsure of what to say next. Persephone was extremely vulnerable right now and he didn't want to impose his unsorted feelings on her. _She just confronted her ‘rapist’, it would be completely inappropriate for me to advance on her in any way. She needs time to heal, and I’m okay with that_.

He relaxed against her and placed his head on hers, resting his chin just on the crown of her head. What he knew realistically had only been a few seconds, he felt as if his silence towards her question had drawn on for hours. “Sweetness, trust me when I say you have nothing to worry about. She won’t be an issue at all.”

Just like that, he felt her tighten her arms around his waist as she dug her head into his chest, not saying anything. They stayed like that for a while more, enjoying the silence that none of them found as uncomfortable. It was as if they had known each other for years and the silence was a comforting remedy while they just held each other until one of them decided it was enough. _I could stay like this forever, we fit together like two pieces of a puzzle._

While Hades enjoyed the silence and the feeling of Persephone’s embrace, he pondered back to the thought of Minthe. He never found comfort in her embrace, and he wondered where he was going with her, where their future was headed. He much preferred the way he felt around Persephone more, he was completely and utterly infatuated with her. She was the most beautiful, radiant, purest, quirkiest, bewildering goddess he as ever encountered. While Minthe on the other hand… he felt none of that for. He practically tolerated her at this point. He knew nothing of love, but he knew that what he had with Minthe came nothing close to whatever fucked-up concept of the notion he had in his head.

Hades puckered his lips into a lopsided grimace, coming to a conclusion. It was obvious his relationship with Minthe was going nowhere, but the thought of being alone was something that had always stopped him from making the right choice. With Persephone in his arms, he knew that he was making the right one, no matter the repercussions. _It’s time to end things with Minthe. _His thoughts began to spiral into self-loathing as he even wondered the likelihood of this small goddess wanting to be with him, however low it might be, it’s worth the shot to one day be able to call her his.

_I’ll take whatever Minthe will throw at me, but this feeling right here. This is something I never want to let go of._

* * *

“Check the pictures on his phone”

Artemis furrowed her brows and looked at Persephone as she retreated to the corner of the room where Hades had been standing, watching them be engulfed by black smoke before they vanished.

_Check the pictures on his phone? What? Why would I even want to do that?_ She thought to herself for a couple of moments before she was interrupted by Apollo.

“Sooooo, you gonna let me out of here, or what?” he rolled his eyes sarcastically.

She knew her brother was pretty much a dick, but how much of a dick could he be? _Afterall, Persephone never truly has lied to me, she even told me about the crush she has on Hades even after I told her how much_ _I didn't like him. She confided in me even though it was forbidden from within TGOEM._ Artemis noticed the change in her attitude after the first day she met her brother, but she just assumed he rubbed her the wrong way. _It wouldn’t hurt to check._

"Apollo, where's your phone?" nothing but calmness instilled in her voice. Trying to cope with everything that just happened. She was met with nothing but silence, a piece of her heartbreaking as she knew what that meant.

_Guilt._

Artemis felt her stomach churn as the look on her brother's face remained cold and stagnate. She searched for some kind of indentation in his pants as a recognition that his phone was in his pockets. However, the vines that coiled tightly around his body made it extremely difficult for her to be able to identify any such thing. Cutting him loose wasn't an option, there was a possibility he would leave without offering her the opportunity to go through his phone. She decided to pat him down as best as she could, hoping to feel it through the vines. Artemis began to pat him down but after switching to his other leg she determined that he didn’t have his phone on him.

She scanned the kitchen in hopes of finding his phone, the only thing that would put her mind at ease. Within seconds she spotted his phone resting on the nearest counter to the entrance of the kitchen. As Artemis picked up his phone she heard her brother struggling to free himself from his restraints, eventually giving up as the thorns were still present and actively digging into his skin as he squirmed. She paused for a second as it only confirmed her newly risen suspicions, her heart ached. She unlocked his phone and went for his pictures, it didn’t take long before she found something she wishes she had never seen. Artemis immediately dropped the phone, uncaring for any damage that could have been inflicted to it by the height of the fall.

“HOW COULD YOU? YOU KNEW I WAS TAKING CARE OF HER. YOU KNEW HOW IMPRESSIONABLE SHE WAS. Y-YOU-YOU-YOU." Tears started to fall down her heated cheek as she tore away at her brother. She couldn't even finish her sentence, her own flesh and blood did something so horrible she couldn't even comprehend. The look on Persephone's face suddenly washed through her mind as she defended her brother instead of her best friend. Although they were basically strangers, she knew she and Persephone already formed a strong bond. Artemis has never really been close to someone the way that she was with Persephone, she loved her. 

She wiped away the tears and scowled. Understanding now what she had to do, she had to protect Persephone. You take care of the people you love, _which I didn't do, I need to make this right._

Artemis picked up Apollo's phone off of the ground, analyzing the now slightly cracked screen. "Whoops." she said into a grin as she headed towards the front door.

* * *

Artemis paced back and forth on the doorstep of this grand mansion trying desperately to muster up enough strength to knock on the door, but before she could make that decision for herself the door flung open.

“I was rather enjoying myself watching you pace on my doorstep, but I was frankly getting quite bored when you didn’t seem to knock on my door. To what do I owe the pleasure, Artemis?”

She watched as she flipped her bright golden hair off of one shoulder. _Listen, no matter how much you can’t stand her… this is for Persephone. You have to make things right._

“I’m sorry to intrude on your… important day, but I need your help Hera.”

Nothing but silence lingered after Artemis finished her sentence, quickly she added, “It’s about Persephone.”

She watched as a look of worry washed over Hera’s golden complexion and stepped back opening the door wider, an unspoken welcome into her home. They stayed in silence as Hera ushered her through the house, stopping at a doorway only to reveal what she assumed as her office. Once they were both through the doorframe Hera quickly closed the door and locked it.

Artemis knew better than to question Hera’s authority and waited until the queen was seated in the oversized voluptuous chair behind her desk, and gestured for her to have a seat in the chairs in front of them.

“What seems to be the problem, Artemis?”

* * *

Hera tilted her head as she examined Artemis' demeanor inside her office. She seemed to be making decisions in her mind and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. _This can’t be anything good._

“I give you my word that whatever is said here in this room shall not leave it, unless it is something severe that should be acted upon.” She tried her best to comfort this goddess sitting in front of her, even if she didn’t necessarily see eye to eye with her most of the time. They both seemed to share a deep caring for Persephone. Hera noticed Artemis tense up slightly at the last portion of her sentence, her worry sent a chill down her spine. _I hope everything is alright with Persephone. _

"I… I don't know how to say this. It was a lot for me to process, and it's s-still a fresh wound." Artemis' voice was shaky, but she understood hurt. She would let her take as much time as she needed for her to form cohesive thoughts and convey them to her.

“I came home and saw Persephone yelling at Apollo while she coiled red vines around him and anchored him to the wall, thorns eventually sprouted from them and punctured his skin. He was… he was bleeding, and she was screaming at him about something…it took a while for me to even register what she was saying” amazed at description of Persephone’s anger it reminded Hera about the time she disguised herself as a reporter in the Underworld and grabbed her arm, watching in astonishment as her eyes snapped and filled with red to the rim. _So much anger._ She raised her eyebrow and sat back in her chair, waiting for Artemis to continue.

“Oh, and um, _Hades_ was there." Artemis paused for a second as she noticed the expression on her face, the look of confusion and glossy eyes as she was trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together before the situation was fully revealed to her. Hera sat up in response, ensuring that her demeanor showed nothing but the utmost attention towards the things that Artemis had to say.

“Persephone said that Apollo had…um…he…” Artemis noticeably started to fidget in her seat, she saw a small tear begging to be released from her eye. “S-she said that he _raped_ her, and I didn’t believe her and told her to go. But before she did she told me to look at his phone, and when I did...” Hera cupped her mouth as she practically spat out what she had been trying to say all along in one breath, fast and jumbled, something you can barely understand. But, to Hera, it was clear as day.

"He had photos of Persephone half-naked with expressions showing she was visibly uncomfortable and in pain." A single tear fell down her cheek as she watched Artemis' panicked expression.

_I knew it._

“Artemis, this is something extremely serious to be saying. Do you have those photos with you?” Trying to hold herself in an esteemed manner before deciding to take anything too far. She watched as Artemis reached into her pocket and offered a phone with a semi-cracked screen to her. Hesitantly she took it, as soon as she unlocked the phone the photos were already opened and her eyes went wide. In an instant, Hera locked the phone and shoved it into a drawer, reluctant to continue looking at them. 

"I see…" her voice practically shook and she looked back up at the goddess sitting in front of her. "There's something that I must say, a couple of weeks back Persephone came to visit me and when I held her hands…I felt it." Artemis sat up at the revelation.

“I felt what had been done to her, but I had no clue by who… and if we’re being completely honest with each other, I had my suspicions about Apollo.”

“I didn’t want to go to Hestia, I knew that one of the first things that she would do would be to go to her mother. And Demeter would only raise hell and make a mess of things… So I came to you.” Hera sat back in her chair and pondered.

“Well… What now?” Artemis whispered.


	6. Aftershocks

-

Persephone stared up at the dark ceiling as she laid in the overly comfortable bed. _ Why is everything so much better here, I’ve never laid in a more comfortable bed before in my life. _ She let out a deep sigh, her eyes were stinging as she tried her hardest to keep them open. Blinks turned into long pauses of her eyes being closed but then jumping open with the realization that she was falling asleep. But the comfort that the bed provided was too much to bear, after all, she hadn’t slept in a bed since she slept over Eros’ house. She dreaded sleeping in her own bed since the night Apollo came into her room. Always finding somewhere else to sleep, her desk, the couch, the roof, someone else’s house, her bed never felt the same and just reminded her of something she tried so desperately to forget about. Persephone turned over on her side, putting a pillow in between her thighs and grabbing another to cuddle with while pulling the comforter up passed her shoulder and tucked under her chin. Although she thought that the underworld was cold, it was the perfect temperature to enjoy snuggling up under the covers to. _ Today was rough, but tomorrow will be better. It’s Saturday after all, who doesn’t love the weekend? _ As if on cue, with her last thought, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The aroma of eggs and coffee filled the room as Persephone tossed and turned on the mattress, slowly awaking to the ravishing smell of delicious breakfast food. The events of the day before had left her with a sour taste on her tongue, completely forgetting to eat. Once she laid on the mattress the night before, it was game over. She felt so rested and refreshed, unable to recall the last time she had slept so well. _ I should probably get up, I guess. _ With that thought, she spread her arms and legs and began to stretch, relieving any tension that had been built up while she slept. She cried out softly as a charley horse became ever so present in the back of her calf, _ Oh sugar-snaps _. She shoved her head into the nearest pillow as the pain traveled up her body.

She heard a soft knock coming from the door of the guest bedroom she was in. “Persephone? Are you okay?”

_ Oh. my. gods, he heard my little shriek. I could literally DIE right now if I wasn’t immortal. _ Persephone practically jumped out of the bed and ran with a limp as fast as she could towards the door, pausing for a second to collect her composure before opening it. Before she could even reply to him, her mouth went dry, she had never seen Hades dressed so casually. The messiness of his hair slathered across his forehead, a V-neck that was tight around his biceps, and casual joggers. “Y-yes, I’m fine. Just had a bit of a charley horse when I woke up.” She struggled to find the words, trying so desperately not to make it obvious she was gawking at him. _ Come on Persephone, get yourself together. He’s in a relationship, it’s unfair to Minthe. No matter how much you don’t like her… _

“Ah, I see. Well, nonetheless I’ve made breakfast if you’d care to join in the kitchen.” 

Persephone’s stomach growled at the discussion of food, her cheeks started to burn and a blush became noticeable on her face. Hades offered a sly smile and chuckled, turning on his heels to proceed towards the kitchen, Persephone closely following suit. 

Both of them sat and ate in silence on the breakfast bar in his kitchen for a while, Hades was the first to break the silence. “So, how are you feeling.”

The events of the day before flashed through her mind, hesitantly she stopped chewing her food. Hades placed his hand over her free one, “Sweetness, I hope you know that I’m here to help you in any way that you need. No matter the situation.” Immediately she relaxed under his touch and continued chewing. Once she finished she took a deep breath and moved her body so that she was facing him. “Thank you, it’s nice to have someone there for you. But, I think I’m okay… I’m definitely mentally exhausted after everything that happened yesterday.” Persephone moved her hand out from under him and put a piece of hair that had fallen on her face behind her ear. “I-I guess I’ve finally excepted what happened to me. It’s definitely taken a while for what he did to resonate within me, but now…” she sighed and moved her body back to facing the breakfast bar. “I think I lost my best friend… and most likely my home.” 

She looked at Hades and the ache that she saw in his eyes was too much for her to bear. _ Don’t make your problems into his, you’re an adult. It’s time to handle things like one. _ Before he could interject she looked away from him and added “Do you happen to know any good therapists? I guess this is probably something I should discuss with someone.” A blush quickly flashing across her face, hoping he wouldn’t think less of her for asking.

Her eyes fell back on his, a soft smile forming on his face. “I would be more than happy to refer you to mine.” Persephone’s eyebrows peaked with interest, but she decided not to push him. Just as he hadn’t pushed her.

* * *

Persephone had never felt more comfortable with someone than she did with Hades. Throughout the day on Saturday, they enjoyed each other’s company and silence while they each relaxed in their own way. For most of the day, Persephone was on the couch reading a book, the sheer number of books that Hades had in his collection that she wasn’t familiar with fully engrossed her. Hades varied from working in his office to joining her in the living room, and while he was in the shared space with her on the couch, she kept stealing glances at him. _ How is it that every time I go to look at him, he always catches me looking? _ A blush rolled over her face, digging her head further into her book. 

Her train of thought was interrupted by a string of vibrations coming from the cushion next to her. She lifted her book slightly placing the bottom of it on her knees so she would be able to peek under it nonchalantly to identify the source. It was his phone, he was getting a phone call. But before she could inspect further, he quickly picked it up and declined the call before setting his phone down on the coffee table in front of them, screen down. Persephone could have sworn she saw a flash of red on the screen before he declined the call but she dug into her book further, resisting the urge to look up as she knew he was most likely looking at her. _ Was that Minthe? Why would he decline her call? _

* * *

Sunday morning Persephone once again awoke to the aroma of breakfast being made. _ What did I do to deserve waking up to this delicious smell in the home of such a handsome man? _ She sighed contently before the dark side of her mind took over, and in an instant quickly sat upright from the bed. _ Oh… right… _ She looked around the room to ground herself and rested upon the guest bathroom that was an ensuite to the room. When her mind was clouded with unwanted thoughts a warm shower always cleared them.

The feeling of the warm water on her skin sent goosebumps all over her body, stepping farther into the shower so she was completely submerged under the water. Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute, _ I think a therapist would help… I think it’s just scary to think that I need one, I thought that it was just a last resort option when you feel helpless inside. But it seems to be a common misconception, I think. Eros even mentioned that I go see one when he felt what Apollo had done to me. _ Persephone sighed and ran both of her hands through her overly grown hair under the warm water of the shower. _ Oh sugar snaps, I didn’t notice how long my hair had grown. _ She finished washing her hair and turned the water off. _ I guess the first step is acceptance, and for me to decide what I want to do next and try to move past all of this I need to divulge my thoughts and feelings. A therapist would definitely help me with that process. _Persephone dried her hair with a towel while getting dressed and proceeded to make her way to the kitchen to join Hades.

* * *

Hera sat in her office and took a sip from her gin and tonic, to her, it was never too early for a drink. The current situation at hand was one that would normally cause for a double, but the sensitivity of the matter was something that she needed to have a clear mind for. She opened the drawer in her desk and picked up the phone that Artemis had given her two days prior. Her suspicions had been confirmed but the only thing left would be how she would have to bring it up to her husband, which… would be interesting, to say the least. The images flashed through her mind, Hera immediately dropped the phone onto her desk and picked up her gin and tonic and took a long, burning sip.

This was something she thought so unimaginable and horrid for any woman to endure. She knew that she had to tell Zeus, and the longer she waited the worst the situation could become. Artemis could become impatient and go to the mortal realm to tell Demeter, and her wrath was something that no one wants to experience. With her decision made, Hera rose from the chair behind her desk and headed in search of her husband. 

She sauntered through her home, eventually finding Zeus looming over the upstairs balcony admiring the sunrise. She tried her best to silently approach her husband, “Bunny, you do know I am the god of gods. There’s no sneaking up on me, no matter how hard you try.” Zeus turned around with a smirk firmly set upon on his face.

She strutted over to him and ran her hands across his chest, roaming around as if this was the first time she was exploring him. He straightened his posture and tilted his head back, holding the grin firmly on his lips. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he practically crooned. She knew that if she wanted to talk to her husband about something he had no interest in, she had to appeal to him in the only way she knew he would be responsive. “Well, you’re my husband silly! I only live to please you” she cooed.

In one swift movement, Zeus grabbed both of Hera’s hands with one of his and tightly held her wrists together. “So, what do you want?” Hera rolled her eyes and scoffed trying to pry her hands away from his grasp. In an unsuccessful attempt, she decided to keep up the ruse, “Why I don’t know what you mean?” she batted her eyelashes in a quick flirtatious way. “I know what game you’re playing at, you do this in an attempt for me to hear you out on a topic you know I want nothing apart of.” He tightened his grip on her wrists as he spat out the last of his sentence.

Hera narrowed her eyes as she made direct eye contact, the annoyance readily showing on her face as he understood where she was going with this. Suddenly, in a swift jerk movement, Zeus let go of her wrists in such a forceful way she was ready to throw a punch at him. _ Why does he have to be such an asshole sometimes? Sure, I was trying to ease him into a conversation but it’s not like I disrespected him in any way. _ Hera rolled her eyes, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind so she can get her concerns across and get away from this rapidly souring interaction. She continued to peer into her husband's eyes, her face slowly softening. _ It wasn’t always like this, when did we turn so bad for each other. I love him, I really do. _

“Well, remember how I was telling you about my vision?” The words softly came out of her mouth, changing the dynamic in which she presented earlier.

A look of pure exasperation washed over Zeus’ face. “You have this new found obsession with Apollo based off of what, a damned vision?! How many times do I have to tell you to leave this alone!” Hera looked behind Zeus where distant lightning was starting to show itself while a low pressing thundered rumbled across the sky. “You’re acting crazy with this vision nonsense!”

Hera’s eye twitched as she struggled to remain calm, showing any type of reaction towards her husband would only bolster his ego and she was determined to make him understand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, slowly pondering how she could handle this situation. It’s the very least she can do to help Persephone. As she exhaled she could hear her husband’s growing impatience with this conversation. “I have proof this time.” She opened her eyes and narrowed them to make eye contact with him, watching his every movement as he reacted in time with her previous sentence.

Her eyes followed his hands as they reached up to comb through his long straight hair while he sighed. She knew that he was pondering ways in which he could end this conversation once and for all, but before he could interject with another excuse or attack towards her she interrupted his thoughts. “Artemis came by late in the day on Friday and showed me this…” She slowly passed the unlocked phone towards Zeus, making sure to put the phone at his eye level so there was no denying this ‘proof’. She watched as he tensed and his temples flared, a strong indication that he was clenching his jaw and that now, there was no denying what she had been saying previously.

“You say you’ve had this in your possession since Friday… It’s Sunday morning, why have you waited so long to bring this to me. You know I have brunch this morning with my brothers.”

“I-I was unsure of how to bring this up to you, I know that you look greatly upon Apollo and these pictures are detrimental to my intuition about Persephone. I don’t know how to handle this and we must have the utmost care with how we decide to proceed.” Hera’s eyes darted back and forth between each of his, searching for any sign of emotion he could be displaying. Unfortunately for her, he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve and was nearly impossible to read.

“I’ll have to cancel brunch then. No doubt Hades will give me crap about canceling it, I never let him pass on brunch. I’ll send them a text now, but In the meantime, do not share this with anyone else while I figure out how to handle this.”


	7. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some dialogue in this chapter is taken directly from chapters 88 & 89 and full credit is bestowed upon our lord and savior, Rachel. 😂

-

Persephone pranced down the hallway eager to reach the kitchen and start her day on a happy note instead of lingering in her thoughts. She stopped as she saw Hades standing in a suit in the kitchen, she felt her stomach tense at the thought of him leaving her, she really enjoyed being in his presence. Her eyes then made contact with the plate of food that sat on the breakfast bar, her heart warmed, _ he made me a plate _. A smile began to form on her face as she continued to walk into the room. “Goodmorning!” she said in a sing-song voice. She watched as he quickly turned around and warmly smiled at her, “Goodmorning, little goddess. I’ve fixed you a plate of breakfast, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Absolutely not, thank you so much!” She sheepishly smiled at him, _ I could get used to this _. “So, where are you off to on this lovely Sunday morning?” she said as she made her way over to the breakfast bar to have a seat in front of the plate.

Hades let out an awkward chuckle and ran a hand through his hair until his hand reached the back of his neck. “I have brunch with my brothers on Sunday’s, trust me, I don’t want to go...but it’s mandatory.” As if on cue, his phone vibrated on the counter.

Persephone watched intently as his hands combed through his hair, imagining her hands doing that instead of his. _ Oh my gods Persephone, get. your. stuff. together. _She quickly dragged herself out of her daydream and fixated on the things he was saying. Her memories of the morning they officially met in his kitchen flooding her brain as the recollection of him mentioning this previously came back to her.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!?” Hades snapped as he read the message he had just received on his phone.

“Is everything alright?” Persephone sat up in her stool as she tilted her head to the side.

“My idiot brother canceled brunch!”

“Oh, I thought you said you didn’t want to go?”

Hades looked up from his phone to look at her. “Oh y-yeah, don’t get me wrong I was dreading going. But I can never cancel brunch, I’m _ forced _ to go no matter what. So the fact that he can just cancel it with no explanation and call it a day...really irritates me.” he sighed and put down his phone. “But, on the bright side, I don’t have to go. Time to start being more optimistic.” He let out a half-hearted laugh.

Persephone chuckled, “Guess you’re stuck with me for another day then.” She watched him for any signs of emotions that would come across his face, but he just seemed lost in thought.

* * *

_ I cannot fucking believe Zeus gets to cancel brunch with no explanation what so ever. The sheer number of times that I’ve tried to get out of the shit show of a ‘family event’ unsuccessfully is remarkable, his only-child syndrome is getting on my damn fucking last nerves. _He brushed his hair back with his hand and sighed.

Hades couldn’t help but think of all the different reasons that would lead Zeus to cancel brunch. The first and only thought was that his brother had somehow caught wind of the events that took place in the kitchen of the shared home of Artemis and Persephone. Apollo being one of his brother’s favorites was something that was well known to many, and because of it made him nervous as to how he might be approaching the situation at hand.

Saturday was something like a dream to him, to have this beautiful goddess in his home actually enjoying his company was infatuating. Although the circumstances were quite grim he felt grateful enough to be able to offer the support that she needs, whatever and however that might be. Between getting work done in his study and joining her in the living room, the silence never felt uncomfortable between them. There were very few times where Minthe decided to stay with him in his home, and when she did the times there was no intimacy taking place between them felt incommodious. Persephone shined a brand new light on the meaning of enjoying the silence, he loathed being alone with his thoughts but just sitting in the presence of each other without having to have a conversation made his heart warm. _ Was this love? _

He looked at Persephone as she studied his face, only realizing at that moment that he was lost in thought. Hades managed to pull a soft smile against his lips, trying his hardest not to convey any nervousness or wariness in his features. He would do anything to help this small goddess sitting in his kitchen, he just hoped that his brother would do the right thing. _ Perhaps I’m just overthinking and Hera and Zeus are just hysterically driving each other up the wall, there’s no reason to always assume the worst in people and circumstances. _

* * *

After Persephone finished her breakfast she helped wash the dishes and put them away. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you have a pair of scissors I can borrow? My hair becomes substantially heavier the longer it is, and it’s quite hard to deal with at times.” She tucks her bangs behind her ear and smiles softly. “Of course, can I offer you some assistance?” She felt the heat rush to her cheeks as the sound of Hades’ proposition along with the opening of a nearby drawer. “I-I mean I don’t want to impose.” She turned to look at him, only to find him a couple of inches away. “I can assure you, sweetness, you are not imposing in any way.”

She watched him as he set down his phone on the counter in front of them along with the scissors, he instructed her to turn around with a swift movement of his index finger and she did as he said. She felt his hands at the nape of her neck, sending a steady line of goosebumps to form throughout her body. He slowly gathered all of her hair and brought all of the pieces together, in the same manner as the first morning they shared together in his kitchen when she had asked him to help her with her hair that was under her coat. 

The feeling of his hand on her skin completely stimulated her senses, as if she were drunk. A small shiver made her way down her spine as she compared the touch of Apollo to that of Hades, she shook the thought of her assailant out of her head. Hades had always treated her with the utmost respect, even now when he helped her with her hair he was touching her so softly, she felt like a porcelain doll under his touch. The distant sound of Hades’ voice pulled her back from her thoughts, “Persephone, how short do you want me to cut it?”

“Oh, right about here.” Gesturing to the nape of her neck. Once again she felt his hands on her sensitive skin on her neck, small blue flowers blooming on top of her heard. _ Oh, sugar snaps. Really, right now? _ Persephone groaned internally. It was so hard to hide the way she was feeling when these stupid flowers were always blooming on her head. They slowly began to wither away at the thought, _ Okay, they’re not stupid... _ Just as quickly as they had gone, they returned again, and she gave herself a small smile. She heard Hades give a small chuckle behind her while he began to cut her hair, certain he was amused by the show that was taking place atop her head.

Just as Hades was about to cut the last piece of hair his phone began to ring, both himself and Persephone gazed at it.

**INCOMING CALL:**

MINTHE

In a swift motion, Hades finished cutting the rest of Persephone’s hair and grabbed his phone off of the counter in front of them, declining the call and shoving the phone in his pocket. _ He declined Minthe’s call again… because of me? I have to set this straight, this isn’t right. _ Persephone turned around to look up at Hades, who was already peering down at her. Her mouth turned dry as she noticed the angst present on the features of his face, how she yearned to reach out and cup his cheek into one of her hands. _ Stop! _

“Hades… you don’t have to decline Minthe’s calls just because I’m here.”

“T-That’s not why,-” Before Hades could continue his sentence she interrupted him. 

“Hades I appreciate you allowing me to stay with you here in your home, but I can’t continue to accept your hospitality until I get something off of my chest.” She scanned his face for any sort of change of expression. “Sugar snaps, this is harder than I thought.” Persephone turned away from him, concluding to herself that not being able to see the way he reacts would help her divulge her thoughts easier.

“Um, so, I’ve been flirting with you… well, trying to anyway. You’re with Minthe and I’m not respecting you, her, or our friendship when I do that.” She briefly paused for a second, using her index fingers to draw patterns on the counter she stood in front of. “I accepted the scholarship from TGOEM and moved to Olympus on the notion that I would keep that commitment, which seemed realistic to me at the time. But then I met you, and I didn’t think I would ever have such a strong connection with anyone else.”

“Kore,”

“L-let me finish, if I stop now I don’t think I would be able to muster up the courage again to continue.” She sighed and picked up the pace her finger had on the counter. “I’ve been prepped into joining TGOEM since I was 14, but now after being so connected to you, I can’t shake the feeling that it isn’t right for me. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s something I want or just something that everyone is telling me that I want. But I mean at this point, I don’t even qualify anymore because Apollo took that choice away from me.” Persephone turned around and looked up at Hades, she grabbed the counter behind her with both of her hands and eased herself on top of it, sitting with her legs dangling off it. Reminiscent to the first morning they shared together in his kitchen. Before Persephone continued she looked down at her feet, “I didn’t expect us to keep interacting like this, which has only made the way I feel for you intensify.”

Silence fell upon them and Persephone was too embarrassed at the admittance of her feelings to look up at Hades. “Please tell me I’m not crazy, you’re feeling the same thing, right?” She left out an awkward laugh to cut what she felt as tension in the room. He gently placed his finger under her chin, bringing it up ever so slightly so she would make eye contact with him. To her surprise, he had a small smile on his face.

“Sweetness, what you’re feeling is definitely not unrequited. I was ultimately unsure if you liked me or if you were just being nice to me because that’s the way you naturally are. Since you explained to me how affectionate the nymphs and yourself are in the mortal realm I just assumed that was your nature.” Persephone blushed as Hades removed his finger from under her chin and took both of her hands in his own.

She looked into his eyes for a couple of seconds before slouching and looking away, “I have to be responsible for my actions, when I’m with you I don’t care about Minthe or her feelings and that’s not right.” Hades began to rub her hand with the pad of his thumb before adding, “Hey it’s not like I made an effort to stop you, or myself for that matter. I don’t want you to feel bad about your actions or what we feel towards each other.”

Persephone still avoided making eye contact with him, the events of Friday and the weekend seeping into her mind, “It would be a seriously gross understatement to say I’m going through some stuff right now, and I think you are too?” She gestured to the phone in his pocket quietly implying the rejection of the multiple calls he’s received from Minthe. 

For the first time since before this particular conversation started they held direct eye contact, she searched for some kind of answers in his eyes, and to her, he was doing the same. A few minutes passed before she realized that were pulling towards each other, nearly inches away, like some kind of gravitational pull was surrounding them. Blue flowers sprouted on the crown of her head and she looked away as soon as she realized how close they were leaning towards each other, “I don’t think we’re making the best choices right now.” A bright magenta blush resonating on her cheeks.

Immediately Hades removed his hands from hers, “Um, I’m not sure what you’re trying to say…” Persephone looked back at him as he backed up from her ever so slightly, “... do you want me to leave you alone?” Hades reached one of his arms to comb through his hair and rest on the nape of his neck, this time he was the one that looked away.

“No!” Persephone reached out with both of her hands out to cup his cheeks, “I just… I don’t think I like Minthe very much after the whole tower 4 incident, but no one deserves to be cheated on. Maybe we should slow down, even though I am staying with you right now.” She let out a small chuckle.

“Yeah, wait, wha-” The look on his face made her heart drop into her stomach. _ Oh no, I’ve never told him how I got there. _She cupped his cheeks a little tighter, “Hey, hey, hey, I’m fine nothing happened. Forget I even said anything.” Persephone offered a small smile to comfort him but his irises began to glow red “Persephone, it’s not okay, you could have DIED!”

Hades removed her hands from his face and again cupped them between his own and raised them to his chest in a small embrace. “I-I just don’t know what I would do with myself if anything were to happen to you, especially in my realm and in my care.” Again, their own gravitational pull activated and pulled them closer together. 

Persephone smiled, “Hades, I mean it about slowing things down. We’ve almost kissed twice within the past twenty minutes.” Hades let out a small chuckle in response.

* * *

The rest of their Sunday was spent savoring as much time together as they could. The upcoming week was sure to be nothing but hectic with Persephone going back to her school schedule and Hades returning back to work where _ Minthe _ awaited him, no doubt ready to chew him out for rejecting her phone calls.

At one point throughout the day, Hades had a key to his home made for Persephone but was apprehensive in bringing the topic up to her. _ She said she wanted to take things slow so I’m guessing giving her a key to my home is not in that aspect. But after all, she is staying here, and I won’t be home all the time to let her inside. And I will most certainly not leave the door unlocked all day. _

The next thing Hades knew he was walking up to where Persephone sat on the couch reading a book with the spare key in his pocket determined to give it to her. As he walked into the living room his heart practically did somersaults in his chest, the look of her relaxed in his home reading a book while her face reacted to what she was reading. She was the most mesmerizing creature he had ever laid eyes on. _ I could get used to this. _

“So Ms. Kore, how has your day been?” 

Persephone looked up from her book with a readily apparent blush forming on her cheeks and then looked back at her book and held up one finger, signaling to him that she was in the middle of a sentence. Hades mentally facepalmed himself, _ Gaia, she just confessed her feelings to me a couple of hours ago and I’m asking her how her day has been? I may be the stupidest God to ever walk this Pantheon. _

Persephone closed her book and looked up at him, a signal to him that she was finished with the current placement in the book. He walked over to where she was sitting on the couch and sat next to her, making sure he wasn’t too close. He examined the features of her face noticing the apparent blush he saw previously begin to fade, “My day has been… good.” He knew the small pauses in between her words were nothing more than a playful tease from her but he couldn’t help but hold in his breath in preparation for her to say something dreadful.

“Well little goddess, I’ve been thinking. Since tomorrow is Monday and it’s the start of the school week and workweek for us both, we won’t always be in the presence of each other.” He began to dig into his pocket in search of the key he had fashioned for her. “I thought it necessary for you to have this since you’ll be staying with me. You’re welcomed here for as long as you need.” He took the key out of his pocket and held it in his open palm in front of Persephone. _ If she says no I might just fling myself out of the nearest window out of pure embarrassment _.

“Oh Hades, that’s so kind of you! I can’t thank you enough for opening up your home to me.” Persephone took the key out his palm and held it in her hand while she sported the most warming smile no other being could have given him. _ Oh, thank the gods. _ “I meant it when I said you can stay here for as long as you’d like.”

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (oh wow, look at me, I didn’t end it on a cliff hanger. woooOOOO!)
> 
> -
> 
> A million thank you's to LaSirena, who is literally the same person as me and a great beta ❣️❣️
> 
> SSDGM 👀


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